


The Last Queen of Asgard

by Asgardian_Centaur



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 17:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asgardian_Centaur/pseuds/Asgardian_Centaur
Summary: While Thor and Loki are stranded on Sakaar, Sigyn must deal with Hela's invasion of Asgard on her own. Not knowing whether Loki is alive or dead, she has to plan for an uncertain and dangerous future. Basically Thor: Ragnarok from Sigyn's point of view.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok I've been working on this fic for far too long and since Infinity War comes out today, I figured now would be as good a time as any to finish and post it. As of posting this fic, I haven't seen Infinity War so there's nothing spoilery in this fic.

Part I

“The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard.” Sigyn read aloud from the announcement. She folded said announcement, placed it on the nightstand, and crawled onto the bed. “Darling, your vanity is starting to show.”

“I never tried to hide it.” Loki answered, still reading over the security report he’d received last night.

“Yes, but between the moving speech you gave after Malekith’s defeat, and that golden statue, I fear it’s getting worse,” she teased.

He chuckled, still not looking up from the report. “You helped with the final design, and if I remember correctly, you helped me write that speech. You were even crying in the audience.”

“I had to play the part of the grieving widow, remember?” Loki put the report down on the nightstand and kissed her forehead. “How fares the realm?”

“No new developments. Still stable, still prosperous.” He stretched and rubbed his neck. Loki shifted and his robe fell open enough to reveal the long, white, vertical scar in the middle of his chest. Two years ago, she had hated it; it reminded her of how she nearly lost him (twice really), and even now her chest still felt tight when she saw it. The skin was smooth beneath her fingertips. Loki took her hand and kissed it, his lips brushing along her wrist and up her arm. The scar was already forgotten.

 “Don’t you have to get ready for this play of yours?” she giggled as he gently pushed her back onto the pillows.

“The play will start whenever the king says it will. And right now, the king wants to spend time with his queen.”

* * *

The play was a unique creation, a blend of truth and fabrication that only Loki could come up with. The Warrior’s three had not been present for his death, but the death itself was visceral. She might have taken Loki’s hand had he not been the All Father and she not disguised as a serving girl. But then the actor brought up the damn golden statue and she had to keep from rolling her eyes and snorting. It was supposed to be a serious moment after all.

The crowd applauded, but she also noted them parting to let someone through.

 _Shit_.

Thor carried the skull of Surtur on his back.

Her first instinct had been to stand between Loki and Thor, but Loki killed that idea with a look. It was for the better; she wasn’t disguised as a guard and it would be strange for a serving girl to intervene between them.

Thor grabbed Loki and held him out in front of him, waiting for Mjolnir to return to him by going through Loki’s face. She looked around, frantic. Had the guards gone mad? Surely one of them would have stopped Thor from assaulting their king. But everyone was still and silent. Sigyn could hear Mjolnir coming closer, and disguise be damned, she would stop this. Magic crackled at her fingertips, and her heart beat wildly against her chest.

Loki yielded and it was over.

Sigyn breathed a short lived sigh of relief. Loki may not be crushed by Mjolnir, but now their whole plan had come undone. They never expected Thor to return like this, already suspicious of everything that had happened. They knew he would eventually return; they had just hoped it wouldn’t be for another century or so, after his mortal friends were gone and tempers had cooled. Now, with Loki revealed, she would have to come up with an escape plan for them.

Skurge arrived to announce Thor’s arrival, and Loki turned to reprimand him. But he also glanced quickly at her with a look she knew well, but hadn’t imagined they would need to use just yet.

 _Run_.

* * *

The walk to the observatory was silent and awkward. Loki tried to explain everything, but Thor would just hold Mjolnir to his face. So Loki decided it was useless trying to argue. Thor would see that their father was safe, and he could work out the next step from there.

“We will need Midgardian clothes.” Thor finally said. The command was implied, and Loki whipped up two suits for them. Both were well tailored; his suit was all black, while Thor’s was a rich grey. Thor looked down at his clothes and stopped. “I meant something more casual, Loki.”

“Why?” He asked, crinkling his nose.

“So as not to draw undue attention to ourselves.”

“We’re going to do that regardless.” Thor gave him _that_ look, and his grip tightened on Mjolnir. “Fine.” He changed Thor’s clothes to something casual, what Thor called a hoodie and jeans. “If you want to dress like a peasant, be my guest. I will not.”

 “So, where’s Sigyn?” Thor asked as they approached the Observatory.

“How should I know? I haven’t seen her.” He snapped; he hadn’t expected Thor to bring up Sigyn with everything else going on.

“Then some other girl left that mark on your neck?” Loki’s hand flew to his neck. Sure enough, there was a patch of skin that was tender to the touch; no doubt it was a deep red color. He sighed and covered it with an illusion.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“Loki, from the moment you met her, you never even looked at anyone else.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to be married to a frost giant. Maybe she left me.”

“I doubt that. You could have been a toad and she would have carried you around in her pocket.  My guess is you saw her this morning.” Loki said nothing. Thor had already guessed it, and he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of admitting it. “How much did she know?”

“Nothing.” He answered, still instinctively trying to protect her.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Fine.” Thor wasn’t going to let this go. “As soon as I put that spell on Odin, I went to her and told her everything. Did she think I was horrible for what I’d done? Did she think me a monster? No. She even thought a change of leadership would do Asgard some good.” He left out the part where she’d screamed at him for letting her think he was dead…again. And he certainly left out their ‘private coronation.’ “She was my queen, my advisor, entrusted with all my secrets and ruled at my side in secret. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

 Thor just shook his head. “What did you do to that poor girl?”

“Oh that’s right. ‘Poor long suffering Sigyn, bound helplessly to her trickster Jotun husband and dragged into another of his schemes.’ Please. She is as capable of everything I am, and if you thought otherwise you never knew her.”

“It seems I never knew either of you.” The Observatory whirled and hummed. Volstagg now controlled it; Fandral and Hogun stood beside him. Thor turned to Hogun and said, “Find Sigyn, but treat her gently. I would speak with her when I return.”

“She is long gone by now, Thor.”

“You keep lying, but you and I both know she would not leave you.”

His stomach churned at the thought of Hogun finding her and dragging her before the throne to face judgement. “Don’t harm her!” he yelled after Hogun, but was drowned out by the sound of the Observatory roaring to life. Before Loki could protest further, the Bifrost hurled them towards Earth.

* * *

Sigyn’s heart pounded in her ears as she dashed into her rooms. _This is bad, this is really bad_ , she thought as she pulled an ancient chest out of her closet. The illusion kept the unassuming appearance; the dark blue paint was chipped and faded, and the wood appeared to splinter. The hinges were rusty and there was a layer of dust that kicked up when she flung the lid open. Underneath a few spare blankets and sheets was a large, leather knapsack. When they were younger, she and Loki had joked about having emergency stashes on every realm. The plan had largely been forgotten until Loki returned from Svartalfheim, when it became their contingency plan. The bag was enchanted to hold significantly more than it appeared, and there was already a few changes of clothes for each of them.

 _We’ll need more…_ she thought, but that would require time she didn’t have.  Loki and Thor could return at any moment, and she needed to be ready for whatever came next.

A loud banging on her door made her jump and she dropped the bag. “Lady Sigyn!”

Sigyn kicked the bag underneath her bed and disguised herself as a maid just as the guards burst into her room. “We’re looking for Lady Sigyn. Have you seen her?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t seen my lady since this morning.” A few of the guards started to look around her room—behind curtains, under the bed, in her closet—as she stood by the bed awkwardly waiting for them to leave. “I believe I heard her say something about spending the afternoon in the library, if that would be of any help.”

That seemed to satisfy them; the guards quickly filed out of her room and headed towards the library, which happened to be the opposite direction of where she needed to be. Sigyn grabbed the bag out from under her bed, and crept out of her room. The disguise would be useful, so she left it up. The hallways were buzzing with buzzing with gossip, and her husband’s name was on everyone’s lips. She made it outside without anyone stopping her and found a spot on the edge of the gardens to wait for word of their return.

Sigyn caught bits and pieces of news as people passed. Hogun was looking for her, on Thor’s order. Loki and Thor had gone to Midgard to retrieve the All-Father. There was speculation as to what would happen to Loki when they returned, and it only strengthened her resolve to get them out of this.

But as the hours passed, there was no word of their return. There was no word of anything, and the silence was unsettling. Sigyn had nearly worn a path in the grass from her pacing. She needed to wait, but she couldn’t help but feel like there was something wrong. Surely, they must have returned by now.

She was tired of waiting. If Thor and Loki were not back, she would gather some more supplies for their emergency bag. If they were back…well, she would need to know the full situation before she planned their next move.

As Sigyn got closer to the palace, she heard the unmistakable sounds of battle.


	2. Chapter 2

Part II

This hadn’t been a battle but a slaughter, fast and bloody; the courtyard was painted red and ash. Blood and gore mixed with the charred remains of Asgard’s battle ships. The smell of smoke and death was suffocating, choking Sigyn as she walked through the carnage. Poor Hogun was impaled on a spike that had been conjured out of the ground. His head was tilted back and his vacant eyes looked skyward. She couldn’t leave him like this. Even though they had fallen on opposite sides in the tension between Thor and Loki, he deserved better than this. She pulled him off the spike, carefully laid him on the ground, and closed his eyes.

 “Sigyn!” She spun around, a knife already in her hand. Amora darted through the courtyard, carefully avoiding the bodies around her. Sigyn lowered her knife and exhaled. “Thank the gods you’re alive. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, trembling. She hadn’t made it here until after the battle—slaughter—had ended. Had she arrived a few minutes earlier, she would have walked right into the middle of it all and would most likely have ended up among the dead.

Amora swore, looking at the carnage around them. “Any word about Thor or Loki?” Sigyn shook her head. “Maybe they’re still alive. We need to go to Heim…” Amora cut herself off. Heimdall was long gone. The rest of the Warriors Three were likely gone as well.

A horn blared in the distance. That horn was only ever used to summon Asgard’s subjects to the palace. The last time Sigyn remembered it being used was for the funeral of Frigga and the rest of those who died in the Dark Elf attack. Even Loki hadn’t used it when disguised as Odin to announce his ‘death.’ It was almost certainly a trap, it had to be. _I need to know_ , she thought.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?” Amora stopped her as she started towards the palace.

“We need to know what’s going on and what we’re up against.”

“Is that all? Or are you walking into a trap because you need to know about Loki?”

“Forgive me for wanting to know if my husband is alive or not,” Sigyn snapped as the horn blared again. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, but I’m going to find out what happened.”

She pushed past Amora and headed towards the palace. Amora soon caught up with her, grumbling about someone needing to make sure she didn’t get herself killed.

* * *

“Let’s try this again.” A dark haired woman sat on Asgard’s throne, her legs crossed, and tapping her nails on the arm. A massive crowd had gathered in the throne room, and the woman’s voice silenced the worried murmuring. Sigyn and Amora were hidden behind one of the large pillars. The crowd gave them cover, and their hoods obscured their faces. “I’m Hela, Odin’s first born daughter and rightful heir to the throne of Asgard.”

Amora looked to Sigyn and mouthed ‘first born?’ but she just shook her head. Loki had never mentioned a sister. He probably never knew. Her stomach twisted, and she tried to control her breathing. “Odin is dead.” Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd. “As are his sons.”

Sigyn felt as though all of the air had been punched out of her. _Not again… I can’t…_ Hela was still speaking, but Sigyn’s ears were ringing.  She was aware of Amora grabbing her arm, either to hold her up or hold her back. Her eyes welled with tears, and she pressed a hand to her mouth to cover her sobs.

* * *

Shortly after Amora dragged her out of the throne room, she had found them an abandoned house to hole up in. The family must have abandoned it shortly before they arrived. The hearth was still warm and the wood still glowed with orange embers. Clothing was strewn about; whoever lived here must have packed a few essentials in a hurry.

Sigyn took to rekindling the fire while Amora went out in search of information. She sat hunched over on a bunch, using magic to breathe life into the embers, and brought the fire back to full strength. She stared into the flames, listening to the wood crackle, though the heat did little to warm her. _Loki_. Her thoughts kept drifting back to her husband. She kept telling herself he couldn’t be dead, told herself that he has cheated death twice before, but Hela’s declaration kept chasing after what little hope she might have, like a wolf pursuing its prey.

_Luck runs out, and no one can escape death forever._

She shook the thoughts out of her head. Until she saw his body and knew for sure that he was dead, she would assume Loki was alive.

Amora returned some hours later, helped herself to some of the food the previous owners had left behind and sat beside her. She handed Sigyn a day old pastry. “This isn’t our food,” she said, still staring into the fire. Her stomach rumbled and she took a bite anyway. The center was filled with berry jam.

“Well, whoever owns this place isn’t eating them anytime soon. It’d be a shame if they go to waste.” Amora took a bite of her pastry as well. “Besides, the market’s closed. If we want food, this is our only option. But I did hear something.” Amora leaned closer and whispered, “Heimdall is taking groups of people into the mountains to keep them safe.”

“Great plan. Now Hela doesn’t have to hunt each of us down; she can just kill all of us at once.”

“Must you be such a pessimist?” Sigyn ignored that and went back to nibbling on her pastry. “The plan is we wait out this invasion or we evacuate Asgard.”

Had Sigyn the energy she might have let loose a hysterical cackle instead of the snort she managed. “Evacuate? So everyone has given up that Thor and Loki are alive.”

“No one has given up, but we can’t just sit around and wait.”

Sigyn looked down at her half eaten pastry. Amora was right. The people of Asgard could not afford to remain in the palace and the surrounding city. But looking around at the ransacked house, and the amount of food left behind, she wondered how long the people could afford to wait in the mountains. The palace would likely be empty, and there would be enough provisions to feed them a bit longer.

She tried to shake the idea out of her head, but she found she was already mapping safe pathways she could take, how much she could carry, and how she might be able to get these supplies to the people. If she was being honest, the thought of waiting with the others, stewing in grief and anxiety, was unbearable. She’d rather keep moving, even if it was dangerous, than to wallow and wait. She voiced all of this to Amora, who protested of course, but Sigyn insisted she had a plan.

“I hate it when you have a plan,” Amora groaned.

* * *

The plan was simple: Sigyn would sneak in and out of the palace and give it to Amora, who would then in turn give it to groups she would encounter. While the undead guards were formidable in battle, they were surprisingly easy to sneak past with a touch of magic to aid her stealth. She focused on gathering food that would last a long time: dried meats and fruits, hard cheeses and nuts.

“He still thinks this is dangerous,” Amora said as Sigyn handed her another bag of food. She had lost count of how many runs she’s made, but after each one Amora always reminds her Heimdall’s opinion on this plan, always careful not to say his name. Sigyn nodded, tired of this discussion. Truth is, she felt slightly better doing this. Danger kept her grief at bay and rekindled a bit of hope in her. Heimdall’s opinion on the matter paled in comparison. “How much more is left?”

“I’ve cleaned out most of the palace’s stores. Why?” Amora looked like there was something she wanted to ask but was almost afraid to.

“I spoke to some of healers. They weren’t able to get as many of their supplies out as they needed.” Amora didn’t need to finish the request. Sigyn turned and headed back to the palace.

Fortunately, medicine was easier to get than food. The trip to the healing rooms was quiet, too quiet, and Sigyn quickly put the medicine into her bag. Now all she had to do was get back to Amora. The thought left her apprehensive. She wasn’t ready to retreat to the mountains yet, to sit and wait with all the others.

Sigyn froze as she stepped out into the hall. Not too far away was the sound of footsteps marching through the hall. A small group of Hela’s undead soldiers had rounded corner and were blocking the shortest way out of the palace. Going the other way was longer, but at least she would have other places to hide.

She darted behind columns and clung to shadows. The guards were out in full force. Sigyn found herself pinned in one of the larger main hallways, with guards that flanked each end of it. They hadn’t spotted her, but she guessed they would soon enough. Her saving grace for the moment was the Archives, which were just across the hall from her. She scarcely breathed, waiting for her moment when the guards would divert their attention for just a moment. That was all she needed.

Finally, she got her moment. The guards at each end both faced away from her just long enough for her to dart across the hallway, which suddenly seemed so much wider than she remembered, and ducked behind another column. _So close_. The main doors to the Archives were heavy and ornate. She crept over and struggled to get the door open enough for her to squeeze through and keep the door from slamming shut.

Once closed, she rested her forehead against the doors. Her chest heaved as she took in several shaky breaths. Footsteps shuffled behind her, too slow and too quiet to be a guard’s. Sigyn turned, slowly, and was unsurprised to find a scholar standing behind her. She was younger than Sigyn, her hair pulled back into a low bun, and she stared at her with big brown eyes. _She is too young to see such an invasion_.

“What are you doing here?” Sigyn asked. The girl still looked slightly terrified, and kept glancing towards the door, like she expected the guards to burst through at any moment. “I wasn’t followed. Are you here alone?”

This time, the girl shook her head. She turned and headed deeper into the archives. Sigyn followed, and found a group of scholars gathered around one of the round wooden tables, speaking in hushed tones. They stopped when they saw her.

“Lady Sigyn,” one of them greeted, a man with dark hair that was greying at the temples. She knew him. Bjorn had frequently been in the Archives whenever she and Loki were there in their youth. “This is…unexpected.”

“I could say the same. What’s going on here?”

Before Bjorn could answer, an older man, one of the head Archivists, held up his hand. “I’m surprised you’re still alive. I was sure Hela wouldn’t allow the last of the royal family to live.”

Sigyn tensed, and she could see several others at the table tense as well. Others had contempt in their eyes. Bjorn clenched a fist, and quietly brought it down on the table. “Master Erikur we don’t have time for this.”

“Her husband’s actions brought this upon us. Had he not weakened the Allfather and took his throne, we would not be here. All while she stood by and encouraged him.”

“And yet I did not hear you complain in all the years Loki acted as king. In fact, you praised the Allfather quite frequently.” Bjorn had always been a friend to them, and she was grateful for his support now. But despite this, Master Erikur’s words left an uncomfortable feeling under her skin.

“In our defense, we didn’t know that Odin had such a secret. Things might have played out differently had we known.”

“This is pointless,” Bjorn said. “What’s done is done.” Some of the others still looked at her with disgust, but a few more softened, and Sigyn could swear she saw pity in their eyes. “We’re taking some key texts out of the Archives.”

“Asgard’s evacuating, and you’re taking books? This may all come to nothing.  Loki and Thor will return and…” There it was, the pity in their eyes. They believed her husband and his brother were dead, and they thought her too pathetic to accept it yet.

“Even if they do return, who knows what state the palace will be in when we return?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Hela were to burn down the Archives to preserve the history she wants. Conqueror’s often do.” This time it was Master Erikur who spoke. “We must preserve our culture, whether we rebuild it here or on another realm.”

There were a few small piles of books on the table, and most of them Sigyn recognized. Books on technology, architecture and infrastructure to help them rebuild. Books on history, songs and legends from their past. Each of the scholars carried a bag. Like her, they were looking to preserve their people in whatever way they could.

“If you’ll accept it, I’d like to offer my help in any way I can.”

Master Erikur shook his head. “We already have a plan in place. I don’t think it would be wise for us to deviate from it.” There was a finality to his tone; he would not hear more of it. She was tainted, cursed. He feared her involvement would bring their doom. The old man would not trust her any time soon. Sigyn wasn’t even sure if she could blame him. Bjorn looked disturbed, though she knew he wouldn’t argue with the Master Archivist.

“Very well. I wish you all good fortune in your plan.”

“And to you as well, Lady Sigyn.” Bjorn said, an apologetic look in his eyes.

Sigyn retreated into the vast shelves. Master Erikur’s distrust of her still lingered in her mind. If he felt this way, and word that Loki had been king for the past few years, then surely there were others who held contempt for them as well. When this threat passes, and it will, what would happen to her? Or to Loki? She’d read enough history to have a vague idea. If Thor survived and was feeling benevolent, imprisonment. If not, if what they had done was a step too far even for Thor…well, history was filled with bloody tales of kings and queens who were despised by their subjects. Worse still if Thor and Loki really were dead. She would be the sole target for the people’s anger. Sigyn rubbed her neck. She could almost feel the cool metal of the executioner’s axe.

Loki would know how to get out of this; he always knew the best way to slink away from trouble, to slip away unscathed and unnoticed. She longed for one of their protected safe houses, buried deep in a handful of other realms and warded by enough magic to kill a bilgesnipe in an instant.

Sigyn paused, her fingertips lingering on the spine of a book whose title had long since faded. Of the two of them, Loki best knew how to navigate the unknown paths between the worlds. Some were straight forward; others bent and curved; some had strange stops and picked up somewhere else, and others had dead ends if one wasn’t careful. And Loki had kept a record of these paths in a journal, and that journal was locked in his old rooms. She had never bothered putting it in their emergency bag. She’d always assumed that if they had to run, they would be together.

Sigyn knew where it was, but it meant going deeper into the heart of the palace. Exactly where she was likely to run into Hela.

* * *

The first few days on Sakaar had been chaotic, and gaining favorability with the Grandmaster had taken so much of his focus that it wasn’t until later that he realized how much time had actually passed. Loki sat in a lavish room weeks after Hela had injured him with his own dagger and thrown him into this technicolor hellscape. He was rarely alone on this world; the Grandmaster or any of his parasites were constantly around him, fascinated by the new shiny toy. At first it had been fine. The company and just surviving kept his mind away from what he had lost.

His father was dead. Thor was either dead or would be soon without his hammer. Asgard was at the mercy of their sister—another of Odin’s lies. And Sigyn…

Loki closed his eyes and fought back against the knot forming in his throat. He had to accept it, as much as his heart rebelled against the idea. Sigyn was most likely dead. She was, technically speaking, the last remaining member of the royal family. If Hela learned that, then Sigyn was lost.

His temples throbbed and he rubbed his eyes. He slept little as of late. Sigyn had haunted his dreams in a series of reoccurring nightmares just after he arrived on Sakaar. Asgard burned in blood and fire, and he watched Hela drive a sword through Sigyn’s chest. Or she would crush Sigyn’s throat the way she had crushed Mjolnir. Each time he was too paralyzed to save her, and he woke gasping for air and tears in his eyes. Hours, days, and weeks later, he can’t shake the images out of his head.

_“What kind of dreams are you having that make you cry out so?” The Grandmaster asks, leaning in close as though they are lifelong friends._

_Loki fakes an easy smile, one he’s perfected that the Grandmaster likes so much. “Oh just the usual nightmares. Finding out that there’s a tear in my cape or that we’re out of wine.” The Grandmaster laughs, saying something about how funny he is. Loki still smiles even as he downs his drink to wash the bitter lie out of his mouth._

There was a knock on his door. Several of the Grandmaster’s circle wanted him to come to his private lounge. They twittered with excitement about meeting some new contender that had just arrived for the Contest of Champions. _Poor fool_.

Loki forced himself to swallow his despair and the dark images his mind conjured. When in the presence of the Grandmaster, he couldn’t show weakness. With a smile that took more effort than it showed, Loki followed them towards the lounge, another story already on his tongue.


	3. Chapter 3

Part III

The palace was dead, a golden, gleaming carcass, empty save for the bones that held it up. Asgard, the palace…this was her home. Or at least it had been. She had hated it at first when her mother brought her and her sisters back to Asgard when they were younger, but it had stopped being a golden cage and more of a golden nest as time went on.

As she stepped into Loki’s old rooms, Sigyn couldn’t stop the tears that welled in her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks. Memories flooded her. Long nights spent discussing and debating different magic schools and techniques or scheming for some bit of mischief that would land both of them in trouble, but was worth it in the end. Mornings spent ignoring everyone just so they could stay entwined with each other a little longer. Here was where they had first discussed what would happen if—when—Loki would be made king. They had been younger then, and Sigyn wondered what their younger selves would think of how their brief reign turned out. She slowly sank onto the bed, gathering the blanket in her fingers. Her time was limited, but she lingered anyway, chasing memories as they came to her.

Outside, she could hear the undead guards marching through the hallway. Screams followed soon after that as the guards gave chase to someone. Soon, all was quiet, and Sigyn had a feeling that the guards had caught their prey. She couldn’t stay here, tempting as it was.

Sigyn climbed off the bed. Loki’s personal vault was well hidden, but he had shown her where it was and how to access it. Beneath Loki’s desk there was a rune no larger than her fingernail. She ran her hands along the floor until she found it. The rune itself was carved into the floor, the edges worn smooth by time. It hummed with magic and sent vibrations through her fingertips. Sigyn closed her eyes and breathed deeply, focusing her energy into the rune. The floor softened and gave way underneath her hand, and she reached into a black void. She groped around in the dark until her fingers closed around a small leather bound journal, and she pulled it out of the void. She flipped through the pages. Loki’s handwriting laid out detailed methods for navigating the path between the worlds. Satisfied, she put the journal in her bag.

As she waited for the void to close and she prepared to sneak back into the hallways, Sigyn paused by a vanity that Loki had brought in from Vanaheim for her shortly after they were married. She couldn’t help but let her touch linger on the dust covered surface. There was so much sentimentality on one piece of furniture: a bracelet given to her by her father when she wed Loki, and the dagger given to her by her mother, a hair comb given to her by Frigga for a name day, and several gifts from Loki that ranged from jewelry, to a box of decorative daggers, to a few other small trinkets gathered from his adventures with Thor. The thought of leaving them all behind filled her with a sharp melancholy. No, she wouldn’t leave any of it. She quickly placed all she could grab in the bag.

The void flickered; it was ready to close soon. Loki claimed to be unsentimental, but Sigyn knew that he kept a small wooden box of keepsakes. She had felt it in the void, and she felt a touch guilty for grabbing her own sentimental items but not his. Before the void could close, she dove for it, reached into the cool darkness and pulled out a dark wooden box inlayed with silver. She watched as that hole closed up while clutching that box to her chest.

There was still one more item, she realized. The last time she thought Loki dead, she had kept his cape with her as comfort. It was stupid, like a child clinging to a blanket, but if Loki was truly gone this time, she could not leave without another tangible reminder of him. His cape was draped over a nearby chair, the one he liked to read in, and she placed that into her bag too. Sigyn realized she had picked the room as clean as she could. If Asgard was a gleaming carcass, then she was a vulture, picking little bits off the bone.

_I have wasted enough time here,_ she thought. The longer she stayed, the harder it would be for her to leave. The garden would have been her safest escape route; she’d used to scale the garden walls with her sisters when they were younger to escape to the market. After waiting for the guards’ footsteps to vanish, she opened the door a crack and peered out. If she moved quickly, she could make it to the gardens before the guards saw her. She took a few deep breaths to gather her nerves before darting into the hallway.

No guards found her as she made her way to the gardens, and she thought herself fortunate. As Sigyn stepped into the gardens, she almost abandoned the slow, stealthy approach she’d used in the palace; she wanted to break into a run and flee into the safety of market and the woods. But as she rounded the corner and stepped into the garden, she found a great mass of black fur lying in the garden. The Fenris wolf had chosen Frigga’s flowerbed as its resting ground.

Sigyn held her breath and slowly backed into the corridor, into the shadows. Her foot brushed an errant stone, a bit of debris left behind, and she froze. The sound shouldn’t have been enough to wake him, but the beast stirred; its eared perked up and it raised its great head and sniffed the air. Not waiting for it to see her, she turned and ran. The wolf’s howl shook the palace like thunder.

There were more undead guards than she realized, save for the throne room which was empty. She moved quickly, ducking and weaving through shadows, trying to pay attention to both the rubble on the floor and the location of the guards. With her attention divided, she missed a large crack in the ground; her foot twisted and she fell onto a flat smooth surface with jagged edges.

Loki’s blue green eyes and wicked smile stared up at her.

She pushed herself up. _Run,_ she thought, but she stalled, her gaze lingering on the icon at her feet.

“Now, what is this?” Sigyn could hear the footsteps that belonged to that voice coming closer, echoing in the ruined hall.

Sigyn turned, and found Hela had come close enough to see her face. She cursed herself for not creating a disguise before she left Loki’s room, but Hela didn’t react when she saw her. _She does not recognize me_. And why would she? Sigyn had been absent for her arrival and her subsequent slaughter of the Einherjar. If she tread carefully, she might survive this yet.

“Your majesty,” she stammered like a frightened girl, and bowed in a deep curtsey. _Look small, look meek._

“Good to know some in Asgard still have some manners.” Hela stopped in front of her and motioned for her to rise. She kept her head down and her eyes averted. “What is your name girl?”

Her name was already half out of her mouth before she corrected herself. “Signy, your majesty.”

“What are you doing at this unusual hour?”

“Just going for a walk, your majesty. I had hoped to go through the gardens but…”

“You saw Fenris. Does he frighten you? Is that why you ran?” She nodded at each question. “Well, you need not worry. He is a fearsome beast, but friendly to those loyal to the rightful queen of Asgard. Though I have to wonder, why go to the gardens at night? Wouldn’t enjoying the flowers be easier during the day?”

She swallowed hard, toying at the hem of her sleeve. “I’ve always preferred night to day.  It’s quiet, there are less people.”

“More shadows to hide in. Easier to steal things perhaps?” Hela eyed the bag over her shoulder. Sigyn shook her head, about to plead her innocence when Hela laughed, loud and terrible. “I don’t care. You want to steal Odin’s flowers be my guest.” Sigyn managed a nervous laugh. “Oh don’t be so shy. What did you do here before the recent change in leadership?”

“I was a maid, your majesty.”

“A maid. Well, you’ll find that there’s plenty of room for advancement, especially for a smart girl like you. Skurge!” Hela turned and called for the former gatekeeper. “Come here and meet our newest member of the group.”

Skurge approached, and Sigyn knew her luck had run out. She had been there when Loki installed him as gatekeeper in Heimdall’s place, and he had been there when Loki’s disguise had been discovered. Like much of Asgard, he knew exactly who she was, and it showed on his face.

“This is Signy, a maid looking for a better job.” Skurge didn’t respond; he stared at her, and she could see him struggling with what to say. Hela noticed too. “What is it?”

_Please. Lie to her_ , she prayed, trying to convey this prayer in her eyes.

“Her name isn’t Signy.” Sigyn closed her eyes, and exhaled. “It’s Sigyn; she was Loki’s wife.”

 “Are you certain, Skurge?” He nodded. Hela looked from her to the crumbled iconography on the floor. “You said you prefer night to day. I think you meant you preferred the dark son to the golden one.” A long sword materialized in her hand. “You should know how he died, then. I threw your dark prince from the Bifrost and he fell screaming into the void.”

The knife might as well have twisted in her chest. She remembered Loki’s first death; Thor had tried to spare her as many details as he could, but in the end Loki had still fallen. Sigyn lifted her chin up. She refused to show Hela her grief. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve lost him to the void,” she answered with a defiance she hadn’t expected. “So forgive my skepticism, but until I know for certain, your words are nothing.”

Hela stepped forward and held the sword to the side of her neck. “Skurge here filled me on what’s been happening on Asgard in my absence. As grateful as I am that your husband usurped my father and hastened his death, he was still a false king. Which makes you, as his wife, a false queen.”

That lit a fire in her. All the work she and Loki did had been done behind the scenes, but they had still put in the long hours, and tireless effort. They may have worked in the shadows, but their reign had been real. And had it not been for the sword pressed against her neck, she might have said so.

“And I’m afraid Asgard can’t have two queens.”

Hela swung, but Sigyn stepped aside and ducked. The sword passed above her head and the breeze it created sent a shiver across her skin. She summoned a smaller dagger and threw it at Hela, but the goddess of death was stronger than she thought. The dagger bounced off her and clattered to the floor.

Hela snorted and kicked the dagger aside. “Is that all you have?” She asked, another sword appearing in her hand. “Pathetic. Asgard deserves a stronger queen.”

She couldn’t beat her, not alone. “Probably. Still not sure that’s you, though. Now if you’ll excuse me, your Majesty, I have somewhere I need to be.” Sigyn turned and bolted towards the exit. She darted from one side of the corridor, dodging the swords that Hela sent flying at her. More than once she felt the rush of air as a sword narrowly missed her. She was so close to the exit she could feel the breeze from the outside; her lungs burned as she pushed herself to run faster. Then there was a sharp pain in her side and she crashed into the ground. One of Hela’s swords had sliced along her hip and had her pinned to the floor by her clothes.

Hela’s cackle reverberated off the walls. Sigyn tried to pull away, but each time she moved another sword landed only inches from her. _She’s toying with me,_ Sigyn realized.

“And so passes Sigyn, Asgard’s last false queen.” Sigyn looked around frantically for something, anything, that might help her. “Skurge, put her out of her misery.”

Skurge stalked towards her, stepping over rubble and debris. _The rubble…_ It would take more energy than she wanted to use, but she reached out with her magic and latched onto several large pieces of rubble. Hela had come close too, and as soon as the both of them were close enough Sigyn flung the rubble at the both of them as hard as she could. Skurge yelled and blocked as much of the debris as he could with his arms. Hela blocked as much of the rubble as she could. It wouldn’t be enough to stop her for long, but it gave Sigyn just enough to get away. She tore away from the sword that pinned her down and scrambled to the exit, still clutching her bag in her hand. She sprinted out of the throne room, vaulted over railings that separated palace grounds from the city, and raced through side streets and back alleys. The wolf howled again, and she could still hear Hela calling for her head.

Sigyn ran and ran, ducking through alleyways and abandoned homes and shops. Adrenaline kept her going and dulled the pain in her side. She’d hear the undead guards chasing people; she kept running. She could hear the desperate cries and shouts, the sound of doors being kicked down and people dragged into the streets; she kept running. The agonizing screams of those who resisted were followed by silence; she kept running. The Fenris wolf howled, and the earth shook so hard Sigyn thought the ground cracked and swallow her; she kept running

It wasn’t until she was in the woods that she allowed herself to stop. Her lungs and legs burned. Pain exploded in her side and she dropped to her knees. She was still clutching the bag so hard her knuckles were white. _I am a fool_ , she thought, gingerly feeling around the wound with her other hand. _But a fortunate fool_. The cut was deep but not fatally so.

In the not too far off distance, Sigyn could hear voices and the sound of people moving through the forest. Had the undead guards managed to track her all this way? She was relatively unarmed, a dagger clutched in one hand and her bag in the other, wounded and exhausted.

Bjorn and a few of the other scholars came through the bushes and Sigyn nearly collapsed in relief. Bjorn was the first to see her and rushed to her side.

“Lady Sigyn!” He helped her to her feet, but pain ripped through her side and her legs wobbled. Bjorn didn’t hesitate to scoop her into his arms. She winced but rested her head against his shoulder, the bag clutched to her chest. Her eyelids felt heavy and she had a hard time keeping them open. Time felt fuzzy, as though it was moving too slow and all at once.

“How is she?” she heard Heimdall asked, and wondered when he got there.

“She’s injured, but I think she’ll live. We need to get her to the others in the mountains.”

“Heimdall.” She squirmed in Bjorn’s arms, trying to get his attention. “Heimdall! Is Loki…”

Bjorn tried to quiet her and keep her still, and she felt another hand rest on her shoulder. “He’s alive, but both he and Thor are far away. Right now, you need to rest.”

_I knew it._ Loki was alive; that was all she needed for the moment. The dread that had weighed her down lifted from her bones. Even the pain seemed to lessen for a moment. Sleep claimed her as the world went dark around her.


	4. Chapter 4

Part IV

Amora slumped down next to Sigyn—who was still passed out—with a groan. She had never been a healer, never had any interest in it, and yet she had found herself roped into helping them when Heimdall and the others brought Sigyn in, unconscious and covered in blood. So Amora had stayed and helped the healers patch Sigyn up out of paranoid protectiveness. Word of what had happened with Loki had spread rapidly amongst the survivors. Because what else happens when you gather a large group of people in a small space in a crisis? Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire. Amora had heard enough suggestions that all of this was Loki and Sigyn’s fault that she wasn’t going to leave her friend’s side and risk a mob taking advantage of her weakened state.

Though she could have killed Sigyn herself when she found what else was in her bag.

Sigyn eventually stirred, wincing as she propped herself up on her elbows. “Where…where am I?”

“You’re in the mountains with everyone else.”

Sigyn looked around and patted the nearby ground. Her eyes widened and she bolted upright, clutching her side.

“Looking for this?” Amora held up the bag before tossing it to her. “I thought you were going back for food and medicine, not sentimental trinkets.”

“I got detoured on my way back.”

Amora rolled her eyes. Sigyn could be so singularly focused she lost common sense. “Right, and you just so happened to get detoured towards Loki’s rooms.”

“You’re angry with me.”

“My closest friend just risked her life to bring back supplies for her people, and comes back practically bleeding out with a bag half full of supplies and trinkets from her dead husband.” It was harsh, and Amora felt a bit bad for being so harsh, but Sigyn could have been killed over being foolish and careless.

“He’s not dead,” she snapped.

“Look, I know you want to believe that. But you may have to start facing the very real possibility that Loki is gone.”

“He’s alive, Amora. Heimdall told me.”

“And you believe him?” Heimdall had been one of the first casualties of Loki’s new reign; trusting him seemed suspect at best.

“I’ve been through this enough times that I know for certain, I’m going to keep assuming he’s alive. Heimdall said he and Thor were far away, and I intend to find them.”

_My best friend is either determined or delusional. Or both._ “Fine, then how do you intend to find them?”

Sigyn looked around, making sure no one was paying too much attention to them, before leaning in and whispering, “You never know what falls into the cracks between worlds.”

She knew of the secret paths, the kind that even Heimdall couldn’t see. Sigyn and Loki had taken her with them sometimes when they traveled, but she thought only Loki truly knew how these paths function. Amora glanced at the bag. Of the books and trinkets, something might be able to guide them. That still didn’t account for _how_ they were going to find them, but getting away from the crowds was probably for the best. When the dust settled and the people of Asgard returned home—or found a new one—Amora suspected they wouldn’t have a place in it. And for the first time since Hela’s arrival, Sigyn looked alive.

 “Asgard.” Heimdall’s voice echoed in the caves, and everyone fell silent. “She’s here.”

* * *

“We are sandwiched between an undead army and a giant wolf,” Amora grumbled. “We should have run as soon as we left the cave.”

Sigyn had to admit she had a point. Instead of being huddled together like fish in a barrel, they could have been half way towards the nearest secret path. The fear that they would be ambushed by Hela or her army seemed so foolish now; they had already been ambushed and attacked.

Magic crackled around Amora’s fingers. “Let’s just get this over with. I want a carafe of wine, a soft bed, and a warm body next to me. The faster we take them out, the faster I can get at least one of those.”

“Loser buys a round of drinks?” She asked, magic swirling around her own hands. They were so close to getting out of here, she was so close to finding Loki, to getting away from all of this, that the army and the wolf seemed almost a nuisance more than a threat.

The wind picked up and the shape of a ship cut through the fog. Sigyn held her breath, ready for the worst. As it came closer, she could see a figure. A cape billowed behind them, and two horns protruded from their head.

“Your savior is here!”

Tears sprang to her eyes and Sigyn felt her face light up in a wild grin. _Heimdall was right._

“Son of a bitch,” Amora breathed. 

Loki descended from the ship and disappeared into the crowd. She heard him yell something about everyone getting onto the ship, but she lost sight of him. She and Amora were too far, pushed to the edges of the group. No, she couldn’t lose him again, not when she was so close.

She stepped forward, ready to run to him, to fight beside him. But aside from that first step, her body moved no further. Her breathing slowed as though she was about to fall asleep and her limbs felt heavy. Even her voice failed her, managing no more than a squeak when she tried to call for Loki.

“We are getting on that ship, Sigyn.” Amora grabbed her arm. “You’re injured, and you can’t keep fighting. Loki will kill me if I let anything happen to you.” Sigyn knew this spell. Amora’s voice became distant, and she found her body willingly following Amora’s voice as she guided her towards the ship. Her eyes felt heavy, and the last thing she saw before her world went fuzzy and gray was a glimpse of Loki’s helmet.


	5. Chapter 5

Part V

“I’m here.”

Thor was across the room in three long strides and crushed him in a bear hug. They might as well have been children again, with Thor squeezing the air out of him.

“Welcome back brother.” Thor whispered.

Loki exhaled dramatically when he let him go. “Couldn’t resist the chance to prove you wrong about me.”

“No, I knew there was more to you than mischief.’

“Don’t take this from me, Thor.” He teased.

“Fine,” he chuckled, and for a moment Loki thought the universe at peace. “You know, I’m surprised you came here first instead of sneaking off with Sigyn.” The sharp pain in his chest returned, and Thor must have seen the stricken look on his face. “Oh no…Is she…”

“I don’t know. I haven’t found her yet.”

“Sigyn is smart and tough. I’m sure she made it off Asgard. We can ask Heimdall; I’m sure he knows.”

“Heimdall isn’t going to help me after everything that’s happened.”

“Your wife is alive.” Loki nearly jumped out of his skin and turned around. Any quips about ‘no hard feelings’ died before they could pass his lips. “Amora’s got her in a separate room on this ship, away from the others.”

It made sense, but it was still unsettling. Once he had the exact location from Heimdall, Loki bolted out of the room.

* * *

The separate room was tiny, more of a maintenance closet than anything. The only lights came from a few control panels, which cast a red glow over the room, and a small orb of light hovering over Sigyn’s prone form. Amora was seated beside her, her knees tucked up to her chest.

“Is she…?” He whispered, too afraid to finish the question and risk his fear coming to life.

Amora looked up and stretched out her legs. “Hello Loki, it’s good to see you too.  You’re welcome, by the way.”

“For what?” He knelt down beside Sigyn. Her eyes weren’t fully closed, but her eyes were unfocused, like she was in a trance.

“I’m kind of why she’s alive right now. See, as soon as you made your grand entrance, she wanted to join you. But she’s already been injured doing one stupid thing after another, and I knew if she followed after you, she’d probably get herself hurt again or worse.”

“What do you mean injured? And why is she here of all places?”

“She had a run in with Hela.” She gently lifted part of Sigyn’s shirt to reveal a mostly healed gash across her side. “There’s been…unrest amongst the people. I thought it best if she wasn’t left in a vulnerable state around them.”

“I need to get her out of here. She shouldn’t be laying on the floor. Lift your spell, Amora.”

“The spell will fade. And she’ll be pissed when she wakes up.” Amora stood, brushing dirt and dust from her clothes.

He nodded and scooped Sigyn into his arms. At least she was alive and warm and breathing. “Thank you, for keeping her safe.”

Amora sighed and opened the door, flooding the room with light. “She’s my friend, and I remembered the promise I made you. Just do me a favor, alright. Try not to die anymore. As much as I might miss you, it pains me to watch her mourn you. And I don’t think she can go through that again.”

* * *

When the white fog around her vision lifted, Sigyn bolted upright, her arm stretched out at her side. A bolt of golden magic shot from her fingertips and landed with a crash and sparks at an unseen enemy. It should have landed on one of Hela’s undead soldiers, not an unfamiliar wall. The blankets around her legs felt heavy and warm and—blankets? She should be on the Bifrost with the others. She remembered the battle, the fear and blood and howling screams of the wolf. Her husband had been there too, hadn’t he? She remembered him yelling—something about a savior. Pieces of her memory were still fuzzy, but this room was unfamiliar and strange. _Valhalla_. Had she woken in the halls of the honored dead? If she was, then who else had joined her?

Sigyn tried to shake that though from her head. No, this room was too alien in design to be Valhalla. And her side wouldn’t still hurt if she was there either. At the very least she was still alive.

 _We are getting on that ship_. Amora’s voice cut through her foggy memories like a sword. This was that ship. Amora had managed to place her under control—a feat she would other have praised her friend for accomplishing had it not been _her_ she had used it on—and brought her on board. But where was Amora, or anyone else for that matter.

There was a voice outside her door, but she couldn’t hear who it was. Part of her was still in battle, and she scrambled out of the bed with magic crackling at her fingertips.

The door opened and Loki walked through it. Sigyn’s breath caught in her throat and her magic flickered into nothing. _Perhaps I am in Valhalla after all_.

“Amora was right about you being angry.” He smiled, and Sigyn felt the tears well up in her eyes. She wanted to run to him, but her legs wouldn’t move. Part of her was afraid that if she did, he would vanish into smoke in her arms. Loki dropped a bag near the bed and approached her carefully. “Darling?”

His hand touched hers, and it broke through any traces of Amora’s spell that might have lingered. This wasn’t Valhalla, or an illusion; they were on a ship going who knows where, but they were alive. Sigyn closed the gap between them, twining her arms around his chest and burying her face in his neck. Tears slid down her cheeks, and her voice trembled as she said, “I’m really glad I don’t have to play the widow again.”

He chuckled and combed his fingers through her hair. “Well, you have had plenty of practice at it.” There was a lightness to his voice, and he kissed her temple. “But I wouldn’t put you through that again.” There was always a high probably he was lying, or at the least wouldn’t be able to keep that promise, but she tried not to think about that, not with Loki’s fingers toying along the nape of her neck. He pulled back enough to meet her gaze. “How are you? Amora told me you were injured.”

“I’m fine; I survived.” She didn’t want to think about her injury or Amora, but Loki’s hand slipped under her shirt and grazed her wounded side. The skin was tender to the touch but not too painful, and she gasped lightly.

“What were you thinking, Sigyn?” He murmured.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now.” There was so much that needed to be said between them—Hela, Asgard, where Thor and Loki had _been_ all this time, what was happening and what would happen to them when the dust settled, where they would go—but none of it mattered at the moment. What mattered was that they were alive, and for the moment they were safe. She had missed him, achingly so. “I don’t want to _talk_ about anything.”

He caught her meaning, and cupped her cheek with one hand and brought her into a surprisingly tender kiss. She could feel herself trembling. It felt as though she was burning from the inside out.

“We shouldn’t,” he rasped, and then kissed her again. “You’re injured.”

“That hasn’t stopped us before.”

Loki sighed and kissed along her jaw and then down her neck. “I will be gentle then.” His breath and lips on her neck sent shivers along her arms. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and she lightly grazed her nails along his scalp. That drew a needy groan from him.

“Not too gentle, I hope.” Loki had already moved them closer to the bed. She pulled away long enough to lower herself onto the bed and guided him on top of her. He was gentle still, but his gaze was hungry, feral, and it sent a shock of electric heat through her core. “I’m not made of glass.”

Loki grinned a madman’s grin and kissed her roughly, breathlessly, passionately.

* * *

It was hours later, when they were both sated and tired, before they spoke. Sigyn had laid her head on his chest and Loki combed his fingers through her hair has he explained all that had happened. The knowledge that Asgard was gone was strange to wrap her head around. She hadn’t expected to ever return in her lifetime, but the fact that there wasn’t an Asgard to return to at all still felt strange. Hela’s identity surprised her less than she thought it should; Odin was full of secrets and probably took many more to the grave with him. As he spoke of his time on Sakaar, she felt her chest ache.

“Would you really have stayed there?”

“Perhaps. I didn’t realize that I had been thrown back in time when I landed on Sakaar, and as more time passed I was sure Hela had killed you.” He fell silent for a moment and kissed the top of her head. “Then when Thor showed up, I thought maybe I could overthrow the Grandmaster and find a way to bring you to Sakaar.”

“I’m glad you came back. Sakaar sounds hellish.”

“Oh I don’t know, you might have enjoyed it. Fashion, drinks, live entertainment. Very cosmopolitan.”

“As cosmopolitan as a dumpster planet can be.”

He chuckled, and the silence that followed lingered for a moment before his fingers trailed down her side. “You’re turn. What happened here?”

“I was hoping you’d forget about that.”

“Darling, as spectacular as our sex life is, it’s hard to forget the mostly healed gash in your side.”

Sigyn propped herself up on her elbow. Loki watched her intently as she told him about Hela’s arrival on Asgard, how she feared him dead…again, and how she couldn’t just sit and wait with the others. He frowned and shook his head when she told him about the food and medical supplies she brought back for everyone. “And then, on my last run, I got detoured by the guards and ended up back in our rooms and I…” _The bag_. She’d been clutching it still when they were on the bridge, but she’d forgotten it when she woke. Her heart raced and she grasped around the bedsheets. “Loki I had a…”

He sighed and with a stream of golden light, he brought her bag over to them. It landed delicately in her lap. “Amora gave that to me after I brought you here. She said you nearly got yourself killed over this.”

“I did not nearly get myself killed,” she snapped. Loki just arched an eyebrow at her; of course he would see through her lie. “Besides, grabbing our personal items was a bonus. I went back for something useful.”

“How would a bunch of trinkets and my cape be useful to you?”

“Gods you’re blind.” She grabbed the bag and thrust her hand inside. “I went back for this.” She pulled out the notebook. He let out an ‘oomph’ as she pressed it to his chest. His face relaxed, the anger dissipating as he realized what he was holding.

 “This is…” His hand caressed the leather cover before carefully leafing through the pages.

“I needed a map.” Loki looked up at her, his expression soft. “If you were still alive, I was going to find you. But without the Bifrost, I would be stuck. The secret paths were my only option, and you knew them best.”

“And if I hadn’t survived?”

“Then I would have used them anyway. How long do you think it would be before the Asgardian’s turned on me? If something happened to you or Thor, they wouldn’t just accept me as their queen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You pretended to be the All-Father, and I helped you. Shortly thereafter Asgard is destroyed by Surtur, fulfilling the Ragnarok prophecy. Our people are homeless, tired, and hungry, and Amora’s been trying to quell the whispers that claim you and I put them in this predicament. Rulers have been deposed over less. I had hoped we could both escape a violent end.”

A strange emotion flickered across Loki’s face. It almost looked like fear, his eyes wide and his face white. But then it passed. He put the book back in the bag and the bag on the floor before taking her face in his hands. “My clever girl. That book may still be useful. My brother plans to bring us to Earth. I definitely won’t receive a warm welcome there, and it’s unlikely you will either.”

“Thor won’t be able to protect you?”

“I doubt it, not after everything that’s happened.” He twined his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck.

 Sigyn doubted Thor would be so cruel as to let something happen to him, to either of them, but she had also remembered the anger in Thor when he returned to Asgard. Perhaps things had changed between the two of them. For a moment, she thought Loki was trembling. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing we’ll know of several ways to get off Midgard should we need to.”

Loki sighed and drew her in for another kiss. For now, Sigyn didn’t want to think about what the future would bring. If she and Loki would really be on the run again soon, she wanted to relish each moment they had alone. He kissed her with a desperate hunger, and held her so tightly she thought he meant to draw her into him. She hadn’t been imagining it; he was trembling. _He is afraid_ , she realized. _He is afraid and so am I_.

* * *

Neither of them could sleep, but they laid entwined together, enjoying the rare moment of quiet stillness, listening to each other breathe. Loki traced lazy patterns on Sigyn’s arms, along her back, and down around her hips. His fingers would stop along the wound on her side, always find their way back to it.

 _You think you know pain. He will make you long for something sweet as pain_. He could still hear that horrid creatures threat, whether he had been in Asgard’s dungeon or on its throne. In his nightmares he saw Sigyn at the mercy of the Other and his master and knew he had been right. The Tessaract was safely tucked away in an interdimensional pocket. Loki wanted desperately to tell her, but he couldn’t bring himself to. To do so risked putting her in even more danger, not that she wasn’t in enough already. As long as she didn’t know about it, there was a chance she could escape the notice of the Other’s master.

Sigyn gazed up at him, and for a brief moment Loki feared she knew. She had a way of seeing through his lies, schemes, and facades, especially if he wasn’t careful. Loki opened his mouth, ready to spin something that would deny any theories she had. She silenced all of them with a gentle kiss. “It’s alright, Loki.” Her whisper was barely more than a breath, meant only for him. “Whatever it is, we’ll survive it.”

He drew her closer and prayed that she was right.

Their peaceful world, their private kingdom, was shattered when the door opened. Neither of them moved. Loki hoped that whoever it was would think they were asleep and leave them alone.

“Your brother wants to see you,” Heimdall said, a hint of an apology in his voice. Loki groaned and buried his face in her neck. There would be no pretending he was asleep.

“Tell my brother I’ll be there in a moment.” Heimdall’s footsteps retreated and the door closed. Sigyn giggled and toyed with the nape of his neck. He almost said ‘fuck it’; Thor could wait a while longer. Except Thor was impatient and would keep sending messengers to disturb them. “Damn him...”

“Tell Thor you have a very impatient wife to get back to.”

Loki pushed himself up and kissed her once more. When he came back, they would decide what their next plan was. The less time they spent on Earth the better. “I won’t be long.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

* * *

Sigyn remained in bed for a while longer, enjoying the comfort of a regular bed for the first time in days. She would have stayed there longer until Loki came back if she could. Her stomach growled, quietly at first then more persistently, and she couldn’t remember when she last ate. She climbed off the bed, and her side twinged with pain. She decided she might also need to find the healers and have them look at her again, and she needed to talk to Amora. Sigyn hated to admit but as much as she didn’t like being put under a spell like that, it had most likely saved her life. She should thank her. But first she wanted to give her hell for it.

The room had a window, and she had opened the screen shortly after Loki left to gaze out at the star field. Now that she was alone, the full magnitude of what they had lost hit her. Asgard was gone, she had no idea where they were now, and Thor was bringing them to a hostile realm. She and Loki were king and queen of nothing now, adrift in all this madness, and trying to find their way in all this.

As she finished getting dressed, a shadow passed over the room, the way a hawk’s shadow might pass over a field looking for prey. The hairs on her arms stood on end, her heart hammered in her chest, and a shiver crept up her spine. Outside the window, the stars were gone, eclipsed by a massive ship. The shadow was an omen, a harbinger of what was to come. Her instincts told her it could only be one thing: _Death._


End file.
